While Siri is perhaps best known as the voice assistant bundled on modern Macintosh computers and iOS devices, Siri can also be interacted with by typing out good old text commands.

By enabling Type to Siri on the Mac, you can use Siri sort of like a text based virtual assistant, where typing out “set a timer for 5 minutes” has the same effect as the same verbal pronunciation would.

Type to Siri is an accessibility option in Mac OS (and iOS, though we’re focusing on the former in this specific article) but

How to Enable Type To Siri on Mac OS

Type to Siri requires macOS High Sierra 10.13 or later, it is not supported in Sierra or earlier MacOS releases, whether they have general Siri support or otherwise.

Choose “Accessibility” and scroll in the left side menu and select “Siri”

Check the box for “Enable Type to Siri” to turn on the feature

Close out of System Preferences as usual

Now you can use Type to Siri, interacting with Siri by typing out commands rather than speaking them.

Using Type To Siri on the Mac is pretty much what you’d expect. Activate Siri like you normally would on the Mac, either by pressing the little Siri icon in the upper right corner, the icon in the Dock, or a keyboard shortcut, and Siri will be summoned as usual. But instead of saying a command, start typing instead. For example “What time is it in London?” or “set an alarm for 6 am”.